The
United States have the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve. China has the Strategic
Pork Reserve. And Canada? Apparently it has its own strategic maple
syrup reserve and it's been hit by sticky-fingered thieves in what is
probably the sweetest heist of all time:

The warehouse in rural Quebec held more than C$30 million ($30.4 million)
worth of maple syrup, a whopping 10 million pounds of the amber pancake
topping.

It was not clear exactly how much of the sweet stuff was taken in the
heist, which occurred at some point over the last few days and was uncovered
during a routine inventory check.

"We don't know yet how much is missing - we do know it is significant,"
said Anne-Marie Granger Godbout, executive director of the Federation
of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers.

Numerous barrels in the warehouse were emptied of their sticky contents.
The remaining barrels need to be weighed and tested to ensure the syrup
inside had not been tampered with.

The robbers "were wise enough, they tried to hide their crime,"
said Granger Godbout. "We just want to make sure we know how much
is missing and how much is still there."